Rail anchor for railroad rails



J. A. HYLE RAIL ANCHOR FOR RAILROAD RA ILS 4 Filed Nov. so, 1923 Y f 4 Z Z I mlmui Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB ALVIN HYLE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. ASSIGNOR TO THE RAIL ANCHOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BAIL ANCHOR FOR- BAILROAD RAILS.

Application filed November 30, 1923.

To aZZ whom it may comem: I

Be it known that I, JAooB A. HYLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Anchors for Railroad Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to a novel improvement inrail anchors especially designed to be secured to the base portion of railroad rails and in engagement with stationary parts of the road bed for the purpose of preventing longitudinal displacement or creeping of the rails over the'sup ports therefor.

The prime object of the invention is to provide a simple, novel, durable and thoroughly efiicient anchor from a single piece of metal, formed preferably of high grade steel, and possessing sufiicient strength to readily withstand all of the strains to which devices of this character are usually subjected, which may be readily applied to the base of a railroad rail and securely retained in operative position there on, and which will effectually grip the rail and cooperate with a stationary part of the road bed to prevent the rail from creeping when in service.

Another object of this invention is to so construct my improved device for one-way traflic, that any tendency of the rail to creep or move forwardly during the travel of the rolling stock thereon, will immediately cause the anchors to more intensely grip the base portion of the rail at each side thereof, and thus effectively arrest and retard such creeping or forward movement of the said rail.

The foregoing and such other objects as may appear from the ensuing description are attained by the construction, arrangement, location and combination of the parts' hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly set forth in the claims appended hereto, it being understood that slight changes in the precise form, proportions and minor details of the construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Serial No. 677,686.

In the accompanying drawings forming ah part of this specification it will be seen t at I Figure 1, is a plan view of a portion of a railroad rail. a cross tie supporting the same and a rail anchor embodying my invention applied to the rail.

Figure 2, is a side view thereof.

Figure 3, is a vertical section, taken in the. plane of the dotted lines 3-3, Fig. 1 lookmg in th direction of the arrows.

Figure 4, 18 a side elevation of the anchor removed from the rail, and \u Figure. 5, is an inverted view of the rail and anchor with the anchor secured to .the base of the rail.

In the @embodiment of my invention as illustrated, the numeral 1 designates a railroad rail and 2 an underlying cross-tie forming a stationary part of the road bed and supp rting the rail 1 and over which the rail has a tendency to creep forwardly or in the direction of the arrow in Figs. 1 and 2, when subjected to the well known conditions. I

My novel rail anchor 3 is secured to the base of the rail 1 and it is formed of a single piece or bar of high grade steel or other suitable metal, thebody portion 4 thereof being preferably square or rectangular in cross-section, and bent into the form shown in the drawings.

The anchor 3 thus formed and secured to the rail 1, comprises a'he'aded portion 5 formed with an inwardly extended jaw or arm adapted to rigidly engage with the top face of the rail base 6 inwardly from the edge thereof, said headed portion 5 and arnr being preferably formed with a downwardly and outwardly beveled portion 7 serving to reinforce and strengthen said member and arm, and terminating with a downwardly extending portion or member 8 substantially in vertical alinement with said headed portion ,and adapted to normallyrest in contact with the side portion of the cross-tie 2.

In the normal condition of the anchor 3, before bein applied to the rail, as shown in Fig. 4, t e distance between the topof its body portion 4, and the lower surface of that part of the jaw or arm 5 which is engaged with the top of the rail base 6 is less than that shown in Fig. 3, and the body portion and jaw-or arm are sprung apart when the anchor is applied to the rail so that the anchor in its tendency to resume the normal condition presses the upper surface of its body portion 4 against the bottom of the rail base 6 and the lower surface of the jaw or arm 5 is caused to intensely grip the top of the rail base by the resilient action of the metal forming the anchor, and thereby causes the anchor 3 to firmly grip one side of the rail base.

As clearly shown in Fig. 5 it will be perceived that the body portion 4 of my novel anchor is formed with a rearwardly and outwardl extended bent or substantially hookshape resilient member 9, terminating at one end with an upward extension 10, which is adapted to firmly grip one edge of the rail base as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It will also be seen that the upper surface of the body portion 4 and the upper surface of the outer end portion 11 of the member 9 are at the same level with each other and rest in contact with the bottom of the rail base, while the central portion 12 of said member 9 is formed slightly thinner and does not closely contact with the bottom of the rail base, as shown in Fig. 3, for the put pose hereinafter described.

In applying the anchor 3 to the rail 1, the anchor is first placed in its proper position relative to the rail with the inner end of its jaw or arm 5 in engagement with the-upper and outer surface of the rail base and its body portion, the member 9 and end portion 11 resting beneath the bottom of the rail, thus causing the hook-shaped member to be under a resilient upward tension. When the operation of applying the anchor is completed by driving the headed portion and jaw or arm 5 inwardly over the inclined upper surface of the rail base by means of a sledge hammer or the like until the extension 10 reaches the opposite edge of the rail base, said tension will be immediately released, and the said extension will be caused to rigidly and firmly engage with the opposite edge of the rail base with the inner upper surface of the body portion 4 and the upper surface of the outer portion 11 in close contact with the bottom of the rail base, and the central portion of the hook shaped member 9 resting slightly away from contact with the rail base, as shown in Fig. 3, and it will be seen that, in driving the jaw- 5 onto the rail base, the metal of the anchor has been'strained apart. The tendency of the anchor ,to return to its original shape results in an extreme and intense gripping action on the rail base, such gripping action being more than suflicient to retain the anchor in its proper secured position regardless of any vibrationto which therail may be subjected, and in spite of weather changes or the like.

The anclior is placed in position so that its member 8, will. abut against the cross-tie 2, at that side of the tie which is opposed to the direction in which the rail will tend to creep, and-by its engagement with the tie, the anchor prevents any longitudinal movement of the rail. It will be obvious that when the anchor is rigidly secured to each side of the rail base with its member 8 in engagement with the cross-tie, any tendency of the rail to creep in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 will immediately force the lower face of the outer sidev portion of the jaw downwardly to grip the rail with increased intensity, thus lnsuring the retention of'the anchor in its fixed position and imparting increased tension to the resilient member 9 thereby causing the projection 10 to more intensely clamp the opposite edge of the rail base, and arrest any further tendency of the creeping action of the rail.

The accidental displacement of the anchor 3 in a direction which would move the arm or jaw 5 outwardly from its gripping position and thereby loosen the same is prevented by the projection 10, which rests rigidly in clamping contact with the opposite ed 6 of the rail base.

By t is invention, I have provided an anticreeper or rail anchor which can be applied transversely to a rail from one side thereof, and in contact with one face of a cross-tie withoutthe necessity of any one of its bearing portions having any movement longitudinally of the rail either during the application of the device to the rail base or after such application. 7

The rail 'a'nchor hereinbefore described is extremely simple and easily manufactured.

It can be quickly applied to a rail base, and can be readily removed by striking the ends thereof with a sledge hammer or the like, and when once applied to a rail base, there is no liability of the anchor to become loose or to: shift endwise on the rail.

It will be readil obvious that in applying the anchor to, t e rail, in the event that the (projection 10 should-fail to s ring u war 1y inengagement with the e ge of the rail base, in the manner shown in Fi 3, when the headed portion and jaw has been driven inwardl to its limit, it will be simply necessary by t 0 use of a suitable tool to pry or force the resilient end portion 11 outwardly until the said projection snaps into contact with the ed e of the rail base.

Having thus describe my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A rail anchor comprising a headed portion formed with an overlapping jaw and a downwardly extended member at one end mauve other end, and an intermediate laterally extended resilient hook-shaped portion.

2. A rail anchor comprising a headed portion formed from a single piece of metal with an overlapping jaw and a downwardly extended member at one end thereof, an up ward extension formed at its other end, and an intermediate resilient laterally and outwardly bent portion. A

3. An anti-creeper for railroad rails comprising a body and a headed portion at one end thereof formed with a jaw overlapping one edge of the rail base and a downwardly extended member, and a laterally and outwardly extended resilient member terminating with an upward extension for clamping the other edge of the rail base.

4. An anti-creeper for railroad rails formed of a single piece of steel comprising a body and a headed portion at one end thereof formed with a jaw overlapping the upper surface of one side of the rail base and a downwardly extended member, a laterally and outwardly extended resilient member connected with said body portion, and an upward extension formed at the terminal of said resilient member adapted to clamp the other side of the rail base.

5. An anti-creeper for railroad rails formed of a single piece of suitable metal having a headed and a body portion formed at one end thereof with a jaw overlapping the top face of one side of the rail base and a downwardly extended member, a laterally and outwardly resilient member connected to said body portion with its inner and outer upper surfaces in-contact with the bottom of the rail base andits central portion out of contact with said base, and an upward extension formed at its other end adapted to clamp the opposite edge of the rail base.

6. An anti creeper for railroad rails consisting of a single piece of metal formed with a headed and ,a body portion at one end thereof with a jaw overlapping the up per face of the rail and a downwardly extended member, a laterally and outwardly bent resilient member, and an upward extension formed at the terminal of the last named member adapted to grip the opposite edge ofthe rail base. I

7. An anti-creeper for railroad rails comprising a single piece of metal formed with a headed portion at one end thereof having a jaw overlapping the top face of one side of the rail base and a downwardly extended member, a rearwardly and outwardly extended resilient member, and an upward extension formed at the outer end of the last named member for clamping the opposite edge of the rail base.

8. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a single piece of metal formed with a beveled headed portion at one end thereof, a jaw extendin inwardly over the top face of one side of the rail base, a downwardly extended member, a projection on its other end extending above the bottom of the rail base and adapted to engage the edge of the other side of the rail base, and an intermediate outwardly and laterally resilient portion.

9. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a single piece of metal formed with a jaw extending inwardly. over the top face of one side of the rail base and a downwardly extended member at one end portion thereof, a rearwardly and outwardly resilient bent portion having its inner and outer top faces in contact with the bottom of the rail base and its central portion away from contact with said base, and a-pro'ection formed at its other end extending a ove thebottom of the rail base and adapted to engage the edge of the other side of the rail base.

JACOB ALVIN HYLE. 

